Employees may have to get used to feeling a chilly blast of air in the early afternoon.

Japanese air-conditioning manufacturer Daikin Industries has developed an intelligent system that shoots out cold air when it detects office workers are falling asleep.

The firm said it conducted research and found that making the room colder for a few minutes was more effective at rousing employees than things like bright lights or a refreshing aroma, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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The firm said it conducted research and found that making the room colder for a few minutes was more effective at rousing employees than things like bright lights or a refreshing aroma

Daikin, which also owns US-based air conditioning-maker Goodman Manufacturing, hopes to collaborate with Japanese tech firm NEC Corp. to develop the high-tech air conditioning system.

The firms expect that it could be ready as soon as 2020.

'I have tried coffee, a quick workout and short chats when I get drowsy after lunch, but the [Daikin] system was much better than all of that,' Yurino Kan, a Daikin employee who participated in the study, told the Journal.

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However, critics point out that there may be more effective methods of encouraging employees to overcome their afternoon slump.

Researchers have found that taking a nap can boost productiveness more than most methods, such as coffee, or in this case, being hit with a cold blast of air.

Daikin, which also owns US-based air conditioning-maker Goodman Manufacturing, hopes to collaborate with Japanese tech firm NEC Corp. to develop the high-tech air conditioning system

Still, Daikin believes there is a market for this kind of product, in the same way that people are willing to pay for premium water, they might be inclined to pay for an AI-infused air conditioner, the Journal noted.

Daikin engineers even propose developing luxury air.

'We are developing air that makes food taste better, starting with wine,' Sanae Kagawa, a Daikin engineer, told the Journal.

Daikin has also conducted research on how temperatures in the workplace might affect employees differently.

The firm's researchers found that in winter, men tend to be more productive in rooms where the temperature is 68 degrees and 30 percent humidity.

DOES WORKING FROM HOME MAKE YOU MORE PRODUCTIVE?

Employees who work remotely are actually likely to be more productive, according to a recent study led by the University of Cardiff.

Those who work from home put in more hours than if they were in the office, and are more likely to go above and beyond what is required.

There are more than four million people in Britain who spend at least half their time working from home, according to the latest figures.

Those who work from home put in more hours than if they were in the office and are more likely to go above and beyond what is required (stock image)

The researchers examined the responses of around 15,000 working people supplied in 2001, 2006 and 2012.

Professor Alan Felstead, the study’s lead author, from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences, said: ‘The evidence suggests that remote workers are over-compensating to prove to their colleagues they are not in their pyjamas at home and prove to their employers they are a safe pair of hands willing to go the extra mile in return for the discretion an employer gives them to work at home or in a remote location.’

Meanwhile, women work better in conditions where it is 72 degrees and with 50 percent humidity.

The company hopes to develop another service that can tailor the air for each worker, according to the Journal.

It has yet to address concerns that the high-tech air conditioning system for the workplace could resemble a pseudo-Big Brother, switching the room's temperature without your consent.

Instead, Daikin sees those criticisms as a net positive.

'Well, that might be a good sign because when an idea is truly innovative you’ll get about 70% of people opposed to it,' Daikin engineer Satoshi Hashimoto told the Journal.

'What we want ultimately to create is air that makes a happy family circle.'